25 Feb March Newsletter – The Lady at the Roadside

The March Newsletter is out and available for download here, and the lead article is one of hope from potential tragedy.

Here is the story of the Lady at the Roadside…

This lady was dying on a roadside in rural Malawi. She had swallowed poison and her life was in imminent danger.

Happily, the person who saw her knew about St Andrew’s hospital. He contacted our clinicians and equally happily, we now have a ambulance.

The arrival of an ambulance – a rare and wonderful sight in Malawi – together with the skill of our medical staff, saved her life.

This episode shows so much of what Medic Malawi is able to do with your support, and the difference we can make:

The hospital is well enough established in the area for the passer-by to know of us and make contact.

We have an excellent team of clinicians – able to cope with a bewildering variety of conditions and problems.

We have an ambulance , with fuel – the two do not always go together when both are so scarce.

And it is worth adding that this patient was destitute and unknown to anyone – she would not have been able to pay even the highly subsidised cost of medicines. But we now have a Bursary scheme , again thanks to your support, which provides for those who have nothing. The terms are “treat first, asks questions later”. Her life was saved. She was discharged a week later.

Without your giving…

My friends, it is so encouraging to see the progress and impact of Medic Malawi through St Andrew’s hospital, and as well through the Nutrition centre and the orphanages.

Without your giving, this lady would have died and so would many many others. Without your giving, 88 children would not have the love and care which is offered every minute of every day in the orphanages; and without your giving, the hungry would not be fed at the NRU. Thank you.

A Hospital on wheels

We have done a lot of building recently, and it is important to develop the capacity to cope with so many local needs. But still there are many who do not come – they are already too ill, or too poor to find the transport for the journey, or they do not know what the hospital could do.

When the eye surgeons were visiting last year, a GP with them went out in a vehicle, treating people in the villages, and then regularly bringing someone seriously ill back in the vehicle to be an inpatient. How wonderful if we could do that every day!

Another vehicle would be required, and clinical staff who could be devoted to that role without neglecting staffing needs at the hospital itself.

March is for Malawi

It is for this reason, for the lady at the roadside, that I urge you again to see if you can do something for Medic Malawi in March – a breakfast, or a meal of a different sort , or an idea of your own. Every penny will get there – we still have no UK costs, salaries or expenses.

What we give is what they get

Thank you. It is so good to see progress, but there is so much more we can do in direct partnership with the community in Mtunthama, sharing what we can to support their own endless enthusiasm and self help.